Los Angeles Lakers: 4 Reasons they deserve to be NBA Title favorites
By Nick Ziegler
– Uncertainty in the East
One of the reasons why the Lakers deserve to be favorites is because of the uncertainty in the Eastern Conference. The Toronto Raptors were able to win the NBA Championship, but a lot of that had to do with all of the injuries to the Warriors.
The Raptors will be doing all they can to retain Kawhi Leonard, as they certainly would not be title contenders if he left. Leonard had a great first season in Toronto, but he could be headed elsewhere this season. The Milwaukee Bucks will also be trying to keep a few key free agents, as Khris Middleton will be highly sought after in free agency.
In addition to those two teams, the Philadelphia 76ers have both Jimmy Butler and Tobias Harris heading into free agency. The 76ers had a good thing brewing, but keeping one or both of them will be important for their future success.
With those being arguably the top 3 teams in the conference, there is a lot of uncertainty for those franchises. Since the East has some uncertainty, the Lakers could use this to their advantage. Now that they have two stars, the Lakers are in a great position to bring the title back to the West.